She’s Done the Work. Now It’s Time to Grow Her Sales.

Sara Sauermann has all her ducks in a row. She’s a maker, a ceramic artist with gorgeous handmade pottery. She’s worked through the Reliable Revenue program. She’s cut way back on in-person shows. And now, she’s ready to grow her online sales.

What she doesn’t need is another long to-do list.

She needs a plan—a simple, strategic path to $35K in online sales between September and December.

This post is packed with real talk on what it actually takes to make the leap from “steady sales” to “sustainable income”—without burning out.

The Goal: $35K in Online Sales by Year-End

When I asked Sara what she’d want to wake up to on January 1, 2026, her answer was simple:

“More sales.”

Specifically, she’d be thrilled with $35,000 in sales between now and the end of the year. She’s a few years into her business. Her average order value is strong. And she’s already made the shift from 100% in-person sales to selling online.

This goal is absolutely doable—but first, we had to figure out what’s working and what’s not.

What’s Working: Systems, Conversion, and a Strong Funnel

Let’s start with the good news.

• Her backend is solid. She’s finished the Reliable Revenue program. She’s got the foundation in place.
  
• Her email marketing is converting. People are buying when she shows up.
  
• Her funnel is strong. With a 1% conversion rate (on high-ticket handmade goods), she’s ahead of the curve.
  
  

She’s also started running monthly events and campaigns—another win.

In other words: she’s not guessing anymore. She’s doing the right things.

What’s Not Working Yet: Traffic + Lead Gen

Now for the not-so-fun part.

Sara didn’t really start driving traffic until July. Up until then, she was getting 300–500 monthly web visitors. In the last month, she hit 700—which is a solid jump—but nowhere near the 3,000 monthly visitors she needs to reliably hit her sales goal.

And even though her pop-up is converting at 4% (above average!), her email list is shrinking—a few too many unsubscribes and not enough new sign-ups to replace them.

So the traffic isn’t there yet.
And the list isn’t growing fast enough.

What’s Holding Her Back: Ad Spend Anxiety

Like a lot of bootstrapped makers, Sara’s been running lean from day one. She's scrappy. She’s resourceful. She’s used to finding free stuff on the side of the road for her booth.

So when it came time to pay for visibility—through engagement ads and list-building campaigns—her brain kicked into panic mode.

She’s been spending around $6.50/day on ads in Canadian dollars. But when she did the math on that over a year? That number got big, fast.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” she said. “I’m not making that money back yet.”

And she’s not alone. This is exactly what happens when you start treating your business like a business. You see what you’re spending. You don’t see an immediate return. And it messes with your head.

The Mindset Shift: You Already Pay for Visibility—Just In a Different Way

Here’s the reframe I offered Sara:

Last year, she spent $4,000 on vendor fees—just for the opportunity to stand in a booth and get eyeballs on her work.

This year, she’s only doing two shows. That’s $800 total in vendor fees. And that means she’s got $3,200 freed up that she could be using to get visibility online.

The difference? With ads, you can stop at any time. You can talk yourself out of it.

But just like in-person shows, you’re paying for eyeballs. Not sales.
And if you don’t get eyeballs, you don’t get buyers.

This isn’t about dumping money into ads that aren’t working. It’s about committing to sustainable ad spend, watching what works, and using that data to figure out what it costs to get a customer.

That’s the only way to get control of your growth.

The Plan, Part 1: Build a Bigger List with a Better Offer

Sara’s site popup converts at 4%. That’s solid. But there’s something better.

She’s got a secret sale page—a gated offer that converts at a whopping 68%.

That’s where we’re focusing her lead gen.

Instead of sending social traffic to her homepage, we’re sending people straight to the gated offer. They won’t see what’s behind the curtain unless they enter their email.

Then we give them a reason to stick around—with a weekly email that adds new items to the collection and creates real urgency.

Think:

• Limited edition holiday pieces
  
• “I found a few extras in the studio” sales
  
• Small batch mugs, advent wreaths, and gift sets
  
  

The offer rotates. The exclusivity stays. And the email list finally starts to grow.

The Plan, Part 2: Start Running Conversion Ads

Her engagement ads are doing their job—building an audience. But now it’s time to take the next step.

Here’s how we’re making her ad spend work harder:

• Keep engagement ads running to grow awareness
  
• Add a conversion ad with a “View Content” goal, driving traffic to her best-selling product
  
• Use her best content organically, and turn the top performers into low-cost ads
  
• Tweak the welcome flow to highlight her most popular item
  
• Use emails to tell the story and close the sale
  
  

Once she gets enough traffic, we’ll be able to track what it really costs to acquire a customer—and adjust pricing if we need to.

But first? Get the traffic.

The Numbers Behind the Goal

Here’s the math:

• Target: 3,000 monthly web visitors
  
• Popup at 4% = 120 new subscribers/month
  
• That’s not enough, especially with list churn
  
• The secret sale page converts at 68%
  
  

If she sends more traffic to that high-converting page, she can hit 300–400 new subscribers/month. That kind of growth changes everything.

From there, it’s about showing up. Consistently. With a reason to buy.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Overthink It

Here’s what Sara needed to hear—and maybe you do too:

You don’t need new products every week.
You don’t need to segment your list five different ways.
You don’t need to discount.

You need:

✅ One really strong lead magnet (her secret sale/private collection)
✅ Weekly emails with scarcity, urgency, or exclusivity
✅ Ads that build your audience and drive traffic to your best-sellers
✅ A mindset that says: “I’m investing in visibility—not gambling for sales”

She’s got the foundation. The numbers make sense. And the plan is simple.

Now, it’s time to build.

RELATED LINKS:

Handmade Business? See How Janine Will Double Her Online Sales. https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/handmade-business-see-how-janine-will-double-her-online-sales-episode-300

Christina's transitioning from in person to online sales. Here's how. https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/christinas-transitioning-from-in-person-to-online-sales-here's-how-episode-298

The stress free content plan that built a huge audience. https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/the-stress-free-content-plan-that-built-a-huge-audience-episode-190

Build a massive Audience with a Brand Video. https://www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/blog/build-a-massive-audience-with-a-brand-video-episode-162